Mexico Drug War Mirrors Colombia Situation In The Past

Reported by: Gary Parker
Last Update: 9:16 am

WESLACO - Some world leaders, politicians and professors are now drawing parallels between Mexico and Colombia. The former Medellin Colombia spoke in Tamaulipas just last week. He gave advice to the Mexican state based on his experience in dealing with drug violence.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS also spoke with a survivor of the violence, even two decades after the death of Pablo Escobar the memories are vivid in Fabian Lopez's mind.

"Life was very difficult, very bad. There was no peace. People would go out of their houses at that time and if they go downtown they would worry one would set off a bomb or something. In reality, many people died that way," says Lopez.

Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera of the University of Texas at Brownsville studies both Colombian and Mexican cartels.

She says Mexico is experiencing the same magnitude of desperation, fear, and violence as Colombians did years ago.

She adds Mexico is a bigger country that's raising drug trafficking to a different level.

"The situation in Mexico is so much more complicated. We're talking about several drug trafficking organizations, we're talking about a very complicated relationship with the United States, we're talking about a span of time which might be longer than the Colombian Case," she says.

She says the Mexican cartels are also more sophisticated than Colombia's.

Fabian Lopez says even so their mindsets are the same.

"Those who make money from drugs are very bad. They only think about money and don't care about anybody nor anybody's family. It was another thing to get mixed-up with somebody and the first things those guys would target was the family. If they didn't find you, they went after the family. It could've been your mother, father, brother, or sister," he says.

The professor says Mexico needs a strong U.S. presence. A more overt plan similar to the U.S.'s involvement in gunning down the Medellin cartel head Pablo Escobar.

Correa tells CHANNEL 5 NEWS, until the U.S. gets involved the battle at the border will continue or get worse.

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